According to the US Department of Labor, more than a third of college-educated women pause their careers for some amount of time to raise their children. But the jobs we leave behind aren't usually waiting for us with open arms.

How do we own the time we've spent out of the workforce raising kids without apologizing for it?

How do we re-enter careers that have shifted in our absence- or create entirely new opportunities for ourselves?

We talk it all out with guest Christina Geist, a brand strategist, entrepreneur and children’s book author who lives in New York City with her husband, NBC and MSNBC host Willie Geist, and her two children.

Her second children's book, Sorry Grown-Ups, You Can't Go To School!,is just out from Random House. In this episode Christina tells us how she bridged the mom gap and launched "a 2.0 version of myself in my 40s that my 20s self would have been so relieved to meet."

Find out more about Christina, her new book, and Boombox Gifts on her website: christinageist.com.

Here are links to the research and writing on the mom gap that we discuss in this episode:

Katie Weisshaar for Harvard Business Review: Stay-at-Home Moms Are Half as Likely to Get a Job Interview as Moms Who Got Laid Off

Dorie Clark for Harvard Business Review: How Stay-at-Home Parents Can Transition Back to Work

Lisa Evans for Fast Company: 5 Ways To Eliminate The Stay-At-Home Mom Gap

Lisen Stronberg: Work PAUSE Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career

Wendy Wallbridge: Spiraling Upward: The 5 Co-Creative Powers for Women on the Rise

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